The average price of regular gasoline in California dropped below $4 a gallon this week but not in Santa Rosa.

AAA’s daily price survey showed Santa Rosa’s average today is $4.04 compared to the state average of $3.984. In fact, Santa Rosa is one of only five metro areas in the state where the average is more than $4.

But Sunny Campbell, executive director of the Santa Rosa-based California Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, expects local prices to soon drop below $4 a gallon.

He noted many Santa Rosa stations already are below $4 but those in residential areas remain above. He said that’s probably because those stations may not sell as much as ones near highways and have yet to be resupplied with lower-priced gasoline from the refinery.

Barring a new Mideast crisis that will send oil prices soaring, Campbell said that as for high gas prices, “I think we’ve seen the worst of it.”

According to gasbuddy.com, the cheapest gas in Santa Rosa today is $3.93 at the Valero station at Highway 12 and Mission Boulevard and at the Flying A at Montgomery Drive and Summerfield Road.

Santa Rosa’s price is down from the average of $4.092 a week ago and $4.272 a month ago. But a year ago it was only $3.118. The highest average ever was $4.55 nearly three years ago on June 19, 2008.

Santa Rosa’s average isn’t that much less than the highest price AAA found for a metro area in California — $4.084 in San Francisco. But it’s much higher than the cheapest of $3.842 in Yuba City.

The nationwide average price is $3.761 with South Carolina having the lowest at $3.468 and Alaska having the highest at $4.248.

To read about how local gas prices are set, CLICK HERE.